It is currently touring Lancashire after a tremendous response from the people of Cheshire and the Isle of Man.

“I would be surprised if there was a child on the Isle of Man that didn’t see the Webb Ellis Cup during our time there,” said Cheshire tour co-ordinator Dave Finlay.

“And the crowds when we got back to Cheshire were unbelievable. We had 800 kids at Helsby, 1500 in Birkenhead and 3000 at Sandbach.”

Events at Sandbach and Moss Farm were in aid of the John Blower Trust, an appeal set up to help Blower, a tetraplegic injured in a match for Northwich last December. Over £3,000 was raised for the appeal at the events and John himself was pictured with the World Cup.

The response to the visit of the World Cup has been staggering and with another 15 weeks to go, the tour is well on target to reach the 2 million mark - many new to the game of rugby.

At Manchester’s Arndale Centre on Sunday, over 900 signed up to receive more information on rugby events in their area.

An army of volunteers, staff from the Rugby Football Union and tour managers Activate UK have kept the biggest sporting roadshow in Britain rolling, taking rugby to new people and places.

Mike Vandrau, of Activate UK who are managing the tour in conjunction with the Rugby Football Union, said: “It has been tremendous, we are seeing a great response from the English public and are well on course to hit the 10,000 mark of new people coming into the game.”

It was a sentiment echoed by Finlay, who said: “When we arrived at Northwich town centre at 8.30am, there was a queue 250 metres long – and every one had a smile on their faces.

“What also amazed me was the range of ages who want to see it, from small children to octogenarians.

“On a personal level, I would just like to thank RFU Community Rugby Manager Alan Black and his team, as well as the staff at Activate UK for all their hard work. If the rest of the country gets a tenth as much out of them as we did, they will still receive a brilliant service.”

In association with sponsors EA SPORTS, Ford, Holiday Inn, Land Rover and Lucozade Sport, the tour is visiting a range of venues organised by the RFU's 35 Constituent Bodies, including rugby clubs, leisure centres and schools, city centres and shopping malls.

As well as the Webb Ellis Cup, the RFU's new 40-ton open-out interactive Travelling Exhibition Unit contains the RBS 6 Nations Championship Trophy, the Calcutta Cup and the Women's 6 Nations Trophy.